Wilhblm hiet



W. HIRT. Glass-Makers Crane.

No. 223,348. Paie-med 1an. 6, v18:50.

N.PETRS, PHoTo-UTHOGRAFHER, WASHINGTON. D C,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILHELM PIIRT, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO vHIMSELF AND CUNNINGHAMS St COMPANY.

GLASS-MAKERS CRANE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 223,348, dated January 6, 1880.

Application filed October 23, 1879. l

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WILHELM HIET, of Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new 5 and useful Improvement in Glass Makers7 Cranes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specifica- Io tion, in which- Figure l is a side elevation of my improved crane, and Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same.

Like letters of reference indicate like parts in each.

I5 In making window-glass the molten glass is gathered on the blow-pipe and formed by blowing and swinging into a long cylinder. During this operation the glass-blower stands on a platform in front of the glory-hole or 2o finishing-furnace, and swings the graduallyexpanding and heavy mass of glass in a pit in which the platform stands. It is necessary that the glass cylinder should be placed in the glory-hole of the furnace to keep it soft and 2 5 plastic while being finished. During the operation the cylinder is rotated or twirled to prevent it from drooping. As the cylinder is very heavy the blower cannot, while iinishing it, support it in the horizontal position necessary 3o to its presentation to the linishing-furnace.

Two devices have heretofore been adopted for this purpose. One of these is a forked iron bar long enough to reach to the level of the glory-hole from the bottom of the pit. It is 3 5 held by a boy, who stands in the pit, and when the blower desires to use it he swings his pipe up horizontally and rests it in the fork. rIhe other device is a swinging crane mounted in front of the gloryhole and swinging into po- 4o sition when needed. This is a much preferable device to the forked bar, but it is open to the objection that the fulcrum of the pipe cannot be kept in the right line with the glory-hole.

In iinishing the cylinder of glass, which is 4 5 nearly as large in diameter as the glory-hole, it is pushed in and out of the hole a number of times, and is liable to come in contact with the sides. As the glass is soft and the cylinder is in constant rotation this contact seams 5o the glass and gives it a distorted appearance,

which is very injurious to it and renders it unsalable. With the swinging crane the angle of presentation of the cylinder is constantly changing, and this, owing to the narrowness of the hole, is a source of constant trouble and 55 loss.

Another objection to the swinging crane is that it occupies so much room that it cannot be applied to many furnaces now in use, because the work-holes are placed near together. 6o Its use is therefore generally limited to the outer holes, its advantages not compensating for the enlargement of the furnace necessary for its general use.

My invention consists of a swinging crane 65 having an extension-arm which is projected by a crank operated by gearing from the shaft of the crane, so that the angle of presentation of the cylinder is always the same, or nearly so, so that as the pipe is moved toward or from 7o the furnace it always travels in arightline.

To enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use my iinvention, I will proceed to explain its construction and mode of operation. i

The crane c is mounted on a post, b, extending up from the platform c. Itis composed of a shaft, d, mount-ed in bearings c c, and a swinging arm, f, sustained by a brace, g, both mounted on the shaft d. Back of the shaft d 8o is a counter-shaft, It, and on the upper ends of the shaft d and It are the pinions d' and It', which mesh into each other.

The shaft h has an arm, t', at its upper end, which extends back, and on this arm is a ver- 8 5 tical pin, j, from which a rod, k, runs forward and is fastened to a slide or extension, l, placed on top of the arm j', and sliding in the yokes m. At the outer end of the slide L is a bearing, u, for the blow-pipe. 9o

I prefer to use friction-rollers 0 between the arm j' and slide Z, but they may be dispensed with. The glory-hole of the furnace is shown by the dotted line in Fig. l, and at p in Fig. 2.

rIlhe effect of this construction is that the 95 crane in its normal position stands as shown by the full lines of the drawings; but when the blower rests his pipe on the bearing n and pushes the cylinder into the gloryhole, the swing of the crane turns the shaft h by means 10o of the pinions d It', which throws the arm t' forward, and thereby moves the slide l, lengthening the arm ot' the crane and keeping the bearing of' the blow-pipe on a right line, or nearly so, with the Center of the glory-hole. llhis operationisillustrated by the broken lines iii-Fig. 2. The line of movement ot' the bearing` n is tangential to the oirole described by the end of the crane.

The advau tages of my improvementJ are that by it there is much less danger of the glass striking the sides ofthe glory-hole, and, owing to its being shortest when standing across the pit, one can be used at each hole Without interfering with those at the adjoining holes.

Vhat I claim as my invention, and" desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

A swinging Graue having a slide or eXtension arm and a crank connected with the slide and operated by gearing from the shaft of the Crane for causing the slide to be projected so that its end shall move at a'tangent, or nearly so, to the circle described by the crane, substantially as aud for the purposes set forth.

In testimony whereof I, the said WILHELM 2 5 

